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Theme:

The theme of "Annabel Lee" is love and the control is has over an individual over time. The speaker in the poem has last his true love and therefore his entire world has come crashing down around him. He begins to obsess over his loss and the reasons why such a thing could happen. This suggests that he is no longer in control of himsel but rather his grief is controlling his actions.

Symbols:

  1. Annabel Lee: symbolizes Poe's loss of his young wife Virginia Clemm
  2. ANNABEL LEE: it is possible that Annabel Lee is a sunken ship which symbolizes the death of Poe's wife. The capitalization of the words in the first stanza could be significant in hinting at the ship metaphor.
  3. The Kingdom by the Sea - 1: The kingdom mentioned in the poem could be a reference to the earth itself. The great kingdom that we all live in.
  4. The Kingdom by the Sea - 2: The kingdom is a symbol of the time they shared together. It is always there to remind him of his loss and of his love for Annabel Lee.